5.

Freemasons Inspired America’s First Political Third Party

In the realm of politics, the first third party in the United States, the Anti-Masonic Party, formed in 1828 in response to fears that the group was growing too secretive and powerful. Many of its members touted conspiracy theories about the Freemasons, with some leaders claiming that an infamous murder of the time had occurred at the hands of the Masons, in an effort to keep the victim from revealing the organization’s secrets.